आमुक्तमाल्यदा (विजयनगर सम्राट् श्रीकृष्णदेवराय - गोदा देवी आण्डाल भक्ति एवं साम्राज्य-नीति)

Yamunacharya 29
of Being and became a devotee of Vishnu. He celebrated the wed-
ding of his youngest sister with the Brahmin victor, and gave him
half his kingdom.
This account is followed by a magnificent description of the
rainy and sultry seasons of the year. Krishnadeva Raya’s poetic
fancy roams all over the earth culling lovely descriptions of man
and nature. We also learn that Yamunacharya was an able adminis-
trator. We go back to Yamuna’s grandfather, Nathamuni, whose
son Uyyakondar had a devotee called Manakkal Nambi. Nambi
felt that the great Nathamuni’s grandson who had shown much
promise was now entangled in materialistic affairs. He went to
Yamunacharya’s palace and drew his attention by sending in a
bunch of alarka greens (known as thooduvilai in Tamil, a favourite
dish of Yamuna) for a few days and gained an audience. He then
told Nathamuni’s grandson: “The treasure left behind for you
by your grandfather lies in an island at the centre of Kaveri
waters. I can show it to you. It is encircled by a snake”. Immediately
Yamunacharya went to Srirangam and worshipped Ranganatha
reclining on Adisesha. A transformation came over him. He abdi-
cated in favour of his son, and became a sannyasin himself
Krishnadeva Raya has made drastic changes in the traditional
account of Yamuna’s life Originally the debate took place in a
Chola court and the immediate provocation for his challenge was
the egoistic pride of the Chola poet laureate, Akkiyazhvan. Nor
did Yamuna marry the Pandyan princess, though he did get half
the kingdom. Thus the idea of his abdicating in favour of his son
is also a new addition in Āmuktamālyada. Actually this device comes
in handy for the poet to give a detailed account of royal polity.
Though the Vaishnavite world knows Yamunacharya only
as the author of Stotra Ratna, Āmuktamālyada makes him an adminis-
trative genius. It is of course Krishnadeva Raya speaking, and
from the account of ‘Yamuna Prabhu Rajaneeti’ we learn that
there was an immense amount of idealism in the Vijayanagar King.
At the same time it is obvious that he had a deep knowledge of the
cunning, treachery and corruption that were the inevitable con-
comitants of the administration, as is evidenced by the several
‘warnings’ issued in the discourse. However, though a just and
an idealist way of life is ever difficult to lead, the King should not
be lax in performing his duties to the best of his ability.